A Truly Outstanding Performance!

What a weekend so far! It was a very rewarding Saturday! I swam, cleaned the house, sorted through CDs and books for the move this summer, did two loads of laundry, and watched football at the pub with Cliff (and prepared my writing exams for June on my laptop). To top it off, in the early evening I went to school to see a middle school (11-14 year olds) play set in a concentration camp during the war. It was one of the best (perhaps the best) plays I have ever seen from students of that age.

I'm struggling to find adjectives to describe it. In fact I cried at the end, and just thinking about it, brings the tears back. The play was shocking, surprising in so many ways, funny, and very moving. That young people of that age could carry such a play is truly amazing, but most especially amazing for our students who so often seem to lack the self discipline which is required. We gave them a standing ovation and they seemed truly surprised. I'm sure they knew that they had done well but I don't think they realized how much they had affected their audience.

A Long Time Since I Last Wrote...anything!

I am really enjoying all the work I'm doing at the moment for the library next year but I do regret that I haven't had the mental energy to write. I have lots of ideas, many of which I have been developing as I swim. In fact, today, I lost track of the number of laps I had done while working through a plot line. I'm sure that I did far more than a kilometer but by how much, I'm not sure.

The library plans are coming along in fits and starts. I have put together the plans for the physical layout and have made a request for assistance during the week after the end of school to carry out the changes. I have managed to forage for comfy furniture and have probably found a sofa and some arm chairs. Today, I think that I found a home for some of the wooden tables that I want to get rid of and found some small tables I need for individual work areas. I still haven't ordered any books but I'll get around to it eventually. I want to make sure that I don't make any mistakes. Well, I suppose one always makes mistakes but the fewer the better.

Back to my writing. I'm going to try and start to write for a half hour each day. About anything at all. It will get me back in the habit and then after a few weeks, perhaps I can extend it to an hour. Que sera, sera!

The Library work begins!

Have I mentioned that I am moving from the language department to the library in the new school year? The planning is starting now because there are a great deal of changes and developments which have to be made in order to move forward. My first challenge is to rearrange the layout of the library so that it works better for everyone. We have a number of difficulties to overcome, the largest being the small size of the library. How do we accommodate the various sizes of groups who need to use the library at the same time: individuals, small groups, native language tutorials, and whole classes.

My first step is to get more flexible furniture so that I can reconfigure the space whenever necessary. There is a very small budget and so I am going to try and find what I need from the furniture already on campus. There is a very, very large wooden table near the main entrance. That must go! I have found a place to put it where there are two light weight tables, which together are about the same size. They are never separated so my table could easily take their place and then I would have two tables and more flexibility. Now I just need to work out who I have to convince of the benefits of the exchange. Ah, I can see that this is going to take up a lot of my time and energy!

More later!

Almost over

Yes, the holidays are almost over. Did I accomplish what I wanted to? Well, for the most part, I suppose I did. I didn't do much writing but I did do a lot of planning. I'm not sure where I'm going with this story line but I will now try to put some of it on paper. I did go to Kew and had a wonderful day there with Emma. We visited two of the glasshouses, a palace (which is more of a large house), the pagoda, and had lunch. I also managed to read 3 books and I'm on my fourth. I swam 5000 metres this week, walked for miles and went to my first yoga class this afternoon. So, not too bad really. Tomorrow is my last day and I'm hoping to make some lemon desserts, work in my garden, swim, and get a bit of my next story down.

All in all, not a bad second week of my holidays!

Easter Hols

Yes, I'm on my Easter hols and they are nearly half over. Alas! I say 'alas' for a number of reasons. Firstly, I haven't picked up my writing yet. I promised myself at some point that I would but so much else has happened that I really haven't had the chance. I also say 'alas' because after today I only have one week left, and I can't help wondering what I'll manage to accomplish in that time. What do I want to do, is another question. I would like to visit Kew and see the palace and go on the tree top walk. I would also like to go into London to the British Museum and a few book stores. I also have some books to read and a few things to get ready for the week back to school. So, rather a busy week then and who knows what else may come my way.

Another Update

It has been nearly a month since I last wrote and I thought that I should give a brief update on my challenge. I have done nothing! Other than start to re-read what I have already written. I suppose that's something! It was a bit silly choosing to take on such a task when I didn't know whether or not I would have the time, energy or even the inclination to take it up. I think that it would have helped if I had had some time just to concentrate on it, just to get me started. I will spend the beginning of the Easter holidays on the novel, hopefully that will kick start me into writing again.

My challenge update

I have been asked what has happened to my challenge. I have printed off what I have written so far. I have started to re-read it so I can get a sense of where I am. However, that's it. Work has been crazy, I have been tired at night and I haven't been able to get any further. I think that I will have to delay it till the Easter holidays when I have some time off to rest and write. I am disappointed but there is no sense beating myself up over it.